Who needs the mainstream media when you can launch your own streaming platform?! President Donald J. Trump did just that Monday evening, unveiling Trump TV [1]: The Essentials Station, a 24/7 YouTube stream featuring presidential speeches, administration announcements and highlights from the Trump White House.
The timing couldn’t have been more convenient.
After Trump banned [2] CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News suspended their participation in the White House television press pool, arguing that restricting access threatens independent journalism. The three excluded outlets also filed a lawsuit.
Rather than wait for the networks to return, Trump launched his own programming. The White House promoted its new channel as a place to watch presidential highlights and announcements around the clock.
And Trump already has a substantial built-in audience, with approximately 3.4 million subscribers to the White House YouTube channel.
Of course, the “unhoused” television networks haven’t exactly disappeared. They’re still reporting on Trump, broadcasting footage obtained elsewhere and filling social media feeds with their biased coverage of the president.
There’s no shortage of ways to watch President Donald Trump. Unlike the relatively limited coverage of former President Joe Biden’s public appearances, Trump is a nearly constant presence across television, social media and the internet.
There is no suppression of the “free” press. The banned networks are still covering him – probably more than usual now that they have been offended by his actions.
Americans can watch Trump on traditional television, catch clips of his speeches and press conferences on YouTube, follow him on X or Truth Social, stream White House events online, or tune in to the newly launched Trump TV – where the president gets to be the star of his own show.